Cab Driver Shot In Head By Fare Feels Lucky

WEST PALM BEACH -- Kenneth Wakefield`s curly hair is matted with blood. An ugly scar winds around the back of his skull. A chunk of his ear is missing.

All things considered, he feels pretty good.

``I still can`t believe I`m alive,`` he said Thursday. ``I thought I was a dead man.``

Wakefield, a 28-year-old Yellow Cab driver, was shot in the head at point- blank range by one of his fares. The gunman and three accomplices escaped after robbing Wakefield and leaving him for dead in an alley off Dixie Highway.

But Wakefield didn`t die. Amazingly, he wasn`t even seriously injured. Within hours of the shooting, he was at home in Lantana, catching up on his sleep.

``I`ve still got a heck of a headache,`` he said.

Wakefield`s nightmare began at 4:38 a.m. when he was dispatched to 18th Street and Dixie Highway to pick up a fare, said police Capt. James Diggs. When Wakefield arrived, a well-dressed man standing on the corner climbed into the front seat and told him to drive to 2100 Australian Ave., Diggs said.

Wakefield said the man paid his fare before walking into an apartment building, supposedly to see his sister. He returned about two minutes later and directed Wakefield to drive him back to 18th and Dixie, Diggs said.

It was on the ride back that Wakefield felt the barrel of a gun pressed into his face. The man told him to turn into an alley behind National Linen, Diggs said.

Wakefield did as he was told. When he stopped, three men emerged from the shadows and joined the gunman. Wakefield was ordered out of the cab and told to lie face down in the alley.

Again, Wakefield complied. As he lay with his nose pressed to the ground, one man poked a gun into the back of his head. Two others searched him and took the $120 he had in his pocket.

Wakefield`s hopes that his assailants would leave after the robbery quickly were dashed.

``I just had time to say a short little prayer,`` he said. ``Then the gun went off.``

For some reason the bullet didn`t enter Wakefield`s skull. Instead, it grazed the left side of his scalp and tore off a piece of his ear.

``It was several seconds before I realized I was still alive,`` Wakefield said. ``That was a shock in itself.``

Bleeding heavily, Wakefield crawled to his cab and radioed the dispatcher. Police and rescue workers arrived within minutes and took him to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was treated and then released.

Wakefield, who has been driving a taxi for about a year, said he`s not ready to give it up.